IF YOU HIT the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, you’ve gone too far. The
institutional money starts a mile south, and
doesn’t let up until the nightlife district.

At least five major institutions invest
upwards of $213 billion from the Texas
capitol. Over the past several years, young
people have flooded into Austin, now known
for the SXSW Festival and a thriving startup
scene. Public pension giants like the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas may not score
so many ‘cool’ points, but they’re magnets
for up-and-coming investors from across the
continent.

Three of these young asset owners—all
from out of state—guided me through the
neighborhood on a sunny Friday in May.
They all loved the city… except for one thing.

“How did you even get here?” a hip (for
pensions) 30-something asked me, incredulous. “There’s no Uber anymore!” Cue bitter
complaint. New rideshare regulations had
recently plunged Austin into the dark days
of 2011. The cabbies couldn’t have been
happier; the young asset owners, quite the
opposite. We toured by foot.

First stop: Texas Teachers. A gauntletof food trucks had set up in front of Austin’spension mothership selling Korean tacos,BBQ, and spinach-colored juice (actually, itprobably was spinach juice). I saw, for the firsttime, Austin’s unofficial uniform of short-sleeve dress shirts and full-sleeve tattoos.In the lobby, a tall, 30-something womanstepped out in a wide fedora and skin-tightdenim jumpsuit. Deadpan comment: “Doyou think Britt has the same one?”Britt Harris: CIO of Texas Teachers,industry statesman, powerbroker. He ismentor and role model to legions of invest-ment greenhorns. I choose to believe that thedenim-onesie wearer is among them.

Harris’ large and famous shop doescome second place in one category: Bestoffice. “UTIMCO has the nicest buildingfor sure,” my guides agreed. “It’s in a greatarea.” Voted “Best New Building” an improb-able four years in a row, the Frost Bank Towerhouses Morgan Stanley, EY, and the univer-sity system’s $36 billion endowment. In thelobby’s café—Houndstooth Coffee—ourgroup’s hippest member fit the scene, wearingskinny pants and a loud bird-print shirt. He’sa Houndstooth regular, and insisted we try“the best Japanese cold brew coffee in the city.”More into pleated khakis than skinnyjeans? My guides shared a secret joint,where anyone wearing actual pants is thebest-dressed around. “Lunch at the hospitalcafeteria. Our equity analysts discovered awhole meal costs like $2.50! Of course theylove it—they’re value conscious.”Techies have Silicon Valley. Londonfinanciers have the Square Mile. Fleet Streetand Times Square used to be newspapercentral, but they’ve been inherited by invest-ment bankers and panhandlers in cartoonsuits, respectively.